Heterogeneous Challenges
by Sarge1
Summary: The Mutant X team is having a boring day, although it turns out to be anything but...especially for Shalimar.....PLEASE R/R!! *COMPLETE*
1. A boring day

Title: Heterogeneous Challenges 

Author: Sarge 

E-mail: Samcwannabe@aol.com 

Rating: PG-13 

Summary: The Mutant X team is having a boring day, although turns out to be anything but...... 

especially for Shalimar. 

Status: Work in process 

Disclaimer: They're not mine(Dangit!!) 

Author's Notes: I really hope ya like it......PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!! Good or bad.... Thanks!! 

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It was a very slow day at the Mutant X headquarters. There were no helpless new mutants to save, no evil plans to thwart, there was absolutely nothing to do, and the whole team was bored.   
  


"Come on, Adam. There has to be something to do," Brennan complained in an almost whiney voice.   
  


"Yeah," Shalimar agreed. "Think of something, Adam, before I go completely insane."   
  


"Like what?" Adam asked as he walked over to the couch Shalimar was sprawled out on and sat down.   
  


"I don't know. Maybe something that involves kicking someone's butt," she answered with a lopsided smile.   
  


"Well, why don't you all catch up on some self defense training then?" he suggested.   
  


"Because we've already done that. Not to mention that I'm kinda sick of beating Brennan, Jesse, and Emma all the time," Shalimar said.   
  


"Hey! What exactly are you saying, Shal? That we're not good enough for you?" Jesse questioned from where he lay on the floor next to the couch.   
  


"No, I'm just saying that, while you're all good to warm up with, you don't present that much of a challenge for me," she replied with a sly grin.   
  


"Is that right?!" Jesse exclaimed as he jumped up and started tickling Shalimar, making her squeal as she attempted to fight him off.   
  


Adam had to get off the couch to avoid getting kicked by Shalimar's flailing feet. Sitting down in a chair, he quietly watching them with a smile on his face. Brennan and Emma were doing the same thing from where they sat.   
  


"Jesse...stop!!!" Shalimar squeaked out between hyperventilated breaths.   
  


"Oh, what's the matter, you big pussy cat? Can't handle me? I thought I wasn't a big enough challenge for you." Jesse said with a grin as he continued to tickle her.   
  


"JESSE!!!"   
  


"First, what do you say?" he asked.   
  


"PLEASE!!!" she replied before she let out another loud squeal.   
  


With that, Jesse stopped tickling her and sat back down on the floor with a content smile on his face.   
  


After catching her breath, Shalimar glanced over at Jesse with another sly grin across her face, saying, "I never said that YOU weren't a big enough challenge for me," Jesse gave her a confused look. "I said you ALL weren't a big enough challenge for me."   
  


At that Jesse immediately jumped up again and went after Shalimar. But this time, as he reached to tickle her, she got a hold on him and flipped him over the back of the couch. With an audible thump and a slight groan, Jesse hit the ground.   
  


Cautiously peeking over the couch, Shalimar looked down at Jesse, who was still laying on the floor, and then started laughing.   
  


Jesse glared up at her. "You're so dead," he growled as he stood up and lunged back over the couch at her, but Shalimar was too quick. She jumped off the couch and backed away towards Brennan and Emma.   
  


Standing up, Jesse looked past Shalimar and over to the other two.   
  


"Why don't you guys help me? She was criticizing you two as well," he said to them.   
  


"He's got a point, Brennan," Emma agreed with a smile.   
  


"Yeah, I guess he does," Brennan replied as he leaped to his feet and grabbed Shalimar around the waist from behind.   
  


"Oh, no you don't," she said as she broke free of Brennan grip and vaulted herself into a flip over his head. Landing behind him, she gave him a swift kick in the back and sent him flying into Jesse, sending them both over the back of the couch.   
  


Softly giggling to herself, she turned to Emma who was still sitting down.   
  


"You wanna play too?" she asked as she glanced back toward the couch to see that Brennan and Jesse were just starting to stand up.   
  


"Wait!" Adam exclaimed as he stood up.   
  


"What?" Shalimar questioned as she looked over at him.   
  


"I just don't want you to start fighting with me sitting here. I'll be in the lab," he replied as he quickly scurried away.   
  


Shalimar smiled as she watched him leave. Turning back to Emma, she asked, "So, you wanna join in too? Because, you know, I wouldn't want to defeat you while you were sitting down. It's just no fun that way."   
  


Emma raised an eyebrow and then smiled. "Sure, I'll play," she replied as she immediately looked over at the guys, indicating for them to grab Shalimar. With nods of acknowledgment, she used her telepathy on Shalimar, making her think that she was in chains and that she couldn't move.   
  


"Emma! No fair!!" Shalimar whined as she was grabbed by Brennan and Jesse, then pinned to the floor.   
  


Once released by Emma's telepathy, she managed to get away from them again and took off, but was immediately pursued by the three.   
  


They did this for almost the rest of the day, until Shalimar finally, as she said she would, defeated all of them. She had tired Brennan and Emma out by constantly making them run after her as she flipped about the sanctuary and she knocked Jesse into one of the ponds, holding him down in it until he proclaimed that she had won.   
  


"Now, that was fun," she declared as extended her hand down to Jesse to help him stand up, but as she did so, he grabbed her arm and pulled her down into the water with him.   
  


Coughing and spitting out water, Shalimar glared at Jesse. "Why you little..." she growled, but before she could finish her sentence, Adam butted in.   
  


"You know, those ponds aren't for swimming," he said with a smirk on his face.   
  


Jesse looked over at him. "I guess not, but I used to be one of those mean little boys who liked to dunk big pussy cats in the bathtub," Jesse replied with a big grin as he stood up and stepped out of the pond, leaving Shalimar sitting in the water, glaring after him.   
  


"And I'm guessing that the little boy inside you hasn't changed much," Brennan said from where he and Emma were sitting on the stairs.   
  


Jesse shrugged as the grin on his face got wider. "I guess not."   
  


By this time, Shalimar had stood up and was out of the pond. As she walked past Jesse, she smacked him on the back of the head and then continued on her way to her room to get changed out of her sopping wet clothes.   
  


"I suggest you go change out of those wet clothes, but when you're done, I want you, Shalimar, 

and you two," Adam looked at Brennan and Emma, "to meet me back here. I have an assignment for you all."   
  


"Finally!" Jesse huffed as he headed to his room.   
  
  
  


TO BE CONTINUED....   
  


(Tell me what you think so far. More is on it's way.) 


	2. The Fight

Title: Heterogeneous Challenges 

Author: Sarge   
  


(Disclaimer on first page) 

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A little while later, Shalimar and Jesse wandered out of their rooms to find the rest of the team hanging around waiting for them.   
  


"Alright, now that everyone's here let's get down to business. One of the new mutants that we put into hiding has been found by the GSA. There have been reports that they are going to pick him up tonight. I want you to go get him out of there before the GSA can. Ok?" Adam said.   
  


"Who's him?" Shalimar asked as she sat down on the stairs next to Emma.   
  


"Corbin West," he replied.   
  


"Oh yeah, he's the guy who's telekinetic, right?" Jesse recalled.   
  


"Yes. Now, I need you all to head over to his place and go pick him up. Hopefully you'll get there before the GSA does," Adam replied.   
  


"Ok, let's go guys," Brennan said as he, Jesse, Shalimar, and Emma left to go get Corbin.   
  


Upon arriving at Corbin's house, they all went in to find him, he was nowhere to be found.   
  


"Do you think we're too late?" Emma asked as she looked around his living room.   
  


Just as Brennan opened his mouth to answer, another voice came from behind them.   
  


"No, you're just on time."   
  


They all turned around to see Corbin standing there with about twelve other men behind him.   
  


"Corbin, what's going on?" Shalimar asked.   
  


"Well, hiding just wasn't the thing for me, so I went to Eckhart and he offered me my freedom for all of you. I figured the best way to get you here would be to make you think that I was in trouble, and guess what, it worked!" he answered as an nefarious smile grew across his face. "Now, you can come with us peacefully or we can use force. Which will it be?"   
  


"Although, while the offer of going in peace is quite intriguing, I think we'll have to go with force," Brennan quipped.   
  


"Then force it is. GET THEM!!!" Corbin commanded.   
  


At that, the men that were behind him charged the Mutant X team.   
  


A few minutes into the fight, the team seemed to be getting, as usual, the upper hand on the men.   
  


Brennan had taken down three already and was now helping Emma with hers. Jesse was doing good too. He had knocked out two men and was working on his third. Then there was Shalimar. She was, just like always, going great. She had taken down four men and was now going after Corbin, but he presented a little bit more of a challenge for her. He kept using his telekinesis to throw her into things like the wall, leaving her a bit dazed. Though eventually she got close enough to give him a nice square punch in the face, knocking him unconscious. Just as she turned back to look at her teammates, she was suddenly backhanded across the face, sending her reeling to the ground. Looking up, she noticed that before her stood a huge man glaring down at her. He was about 7' 5" with bulging muscles. At that moment, his eyes suddenly went feral and he let out a low growl.   
  


Quickly, Shalimar jumped to her feet and faced the man. Looking at his full size, she immediately thought to herself, Why do they always have to be so huge? Shaking her head slightly, she pushed aside her sudden sense if fear and sarcastically said,   
  


"Hey there big boy. Who let you out of your cage?"   
  


That did nothing but fuel his anger further. Letting out another growl, he suddenly charged at her, but Shalimar managed to launch herself into a flip over his head. However, when she landed, the man kicked her right in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. As she hunched over trying to catch her breath, the man kneed her in the face, knocking her back to the ground. Dazed, Shalimar laid there for a few seconds when suddenly she felt the man kick her mercilessly in the stomach. After taking a few brutal blows, she managed to get back on her feet and land a couple of her own punches on him, but as she attempted to land another one, he caught her arm and twisted it until it snapped.   
  


Shalimar cried out in pain as she clutched her arm close to her body and backed away from him, but the farther she backed away, the closer he seemed to get. Finally she came to a stop as she bumped into the wall. As she did so, the man grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. As she attempted to gasp for breath, she immediately thought to herself , I never thought I'd die so soon, but at least I'm going down fighting. It's just shame I won't be able to get Jesse back for pulling me down in the water. It was at that moment that she lapsed into an oxygen-starved unconsciousness.   
  


Jesse just finished off his final man when he looked over to see Shalimar being choked. As he started towards them, he saw Shalimar's eyes close as she passed out and the man throw her into the opposite wall like a rag doll.   
  


Both Brennan and Emma saw the same thing and knowing that Jesse would probably need help taking down the man, they quickly finished off the men they were fighting and headed over towards the man that had taken down Shalimar.   
  


As Jesse got closer, the man turned to glare at him and then, with a growl, he charged. Suddenly he stopped in mid-stride and stood there frozen.   
  


Jesse glanced over his shoulder to see Emma standing there with that look of 'I'm using my telepathy' written across her face. It was then that Brennan walked over to him and stood there, asking, "Do you want the honor or can I finish him off?"   
  


"Allow me," Jesse said as he walked over to the man and after altering his density to make himself extremely dense like he usually does when people are shooting at him, he lifted his hand, bringing it down hard on the man's skull. Hearing the loud crack it made, Emma release the man from her telepathy and watched him fall to the ground.   
  


Jesse immediately turned from the man and ran over to Shalimar. He felt for breath and a pulse, but found neither. "Oh, no you don't. You will not die on me, Shal," he said as he began CPR.   
  


It was then that Brennan and Emma came over. Brennan kneeled down next to Shalimar and took over the chest compressions while Jesse breathed for her.   
  


"Dammit Shalimar!! BREATH!!! Don't you die on me. Please!" Jesse cried before he once again breathed into her mouth.   
  


Emma stood hovering over the three, sobbing softly.   
  


"Please Shal, I need you. Don't die on me! DON'T DIE ON ME, SHALIMAR!!!" Jesse yelled as he shook her roughly. Suddenly Shalimar began to cough. Jesse pulled her into his arms saying, "There ya go, Shal. Take deep breaths."   
  


As her eyes fluttered open, she looked at Jesse's tear streaked face and smiled slightly, whispering, "I guess I got you back for pulling me in the water."   
  


Jesse gave out a soft chuckle and then pulled Shalimar further into his arms, hugging her tightly.   
  


"I suggest we get going before anymore of Eckhart's men show up," Brennan said as he stood.   
  


"Yeah, we should," Jesse agreed as he helped Shalimar stand up too.   
  


With that, they all left.   
  


TO BE CONTINUED....   
  


(More's coming. Remember to READ AND REVIEW!!!!! Thanks!) 


	3. The End of the Day

  
  


Arriving back at the sanctuary, Shalimar was immediately taken to the lab.   
  


As Adam worked on her, he had the others stay around so he could ask them questions about what happened.   
  


"So, you're saying that the whole thing was a setup?" Adam asked as he scanned Shalimar.   
  


"Yeah. Corbin said he didn't like hiding and that Eckhart offered him his freedom for us, but I'm guessing that by now he's probably taking a nice log nap in a stasis chamber," Brennan answered.   
  


"Most likely," Adam agreed and then looked down at Shalimar, saying, "Well, it looks like you have a broken arm, some very bruised ribs, and a nice shiner around you right eye, but other than that, you're fine."   
  


"Great," Shalimar muttered.   
  


"Well, think of it this way Shal. You're a lot better now considering that a little while ago you were technically dead," Jesse put in.   
  


"True," she agreed.   
  


"Not to mention that with today's technology, I'll have you fixed up in a few minutes. Although you will be sore for a few days."   
  


"Yeah, but I suppose that being sore is better than being dead," Shalimar quipped.   
  


"You've got that right!" Jesse exclaimed as he walked over to her.   
  


"Alright, well I need to patch Shalimar up and then she needs to get some rest. So, why don't you all came visit her later," Adam said to Brennan, Jesse, and Emma.   
  


"Ok, we'll see later, Shal," Jesse declared as he patted her lightly on her good shoulder and then followed the other two out of the lab.   
  


A little while later, Jesse wandered out of his room to find Shalimar sitting by one of the ponds, staring absently at the gently rippling water. Her arm was in a sling, but all other signs of their recent fight had disappeared, undoubtedly a result of Adam's technology.   
  


"I thought you were supposed to be resting," Jesse said as he walked over and sat down next to her.   
  


"I was, but it got boring," she replied as she looked at him.   
  


"And when Adam wasn't looking, you used you stealthy feral abilities to slip away unnoticed," 

he finished for her as he smiled.   
  


Shalimar nodded, saying, "Yeah, something like that."   
  


"So, how are you doing?" Jesse asked as his face became serious.   
  


"I'm ok. I'm kinda sore, but I could still take you down if I needed to," she replied as she flashed him one of her grins.   
  


"Yeah, sure you could," Jesse said sarcastically.   
  


They sat there in silence for a few minutes before Shalimar finally spoke up again.   
  


"Um...Jesse? I just wanted to...uh...thank you for...you know, saving my life," she slowly got out as she blushed slightly. She was clearly embarrassed by the fact that she, of all people, had to be saved.   
  


Jesse gently took Shalimar's hand in his and looked intently into her eyes, saying, "Shal, there's nothing to be embarrassed about..."   
  


Shalimar quickly cut in. "I'm not embarrassed."   
  


"Oh, yes you are," he said as he raised his hand to stop her from protesting any further. "Shalimar, we've lived together for quite a while now and I can easily read you like a book. I know that you embarrassed because when you are, you blush and you do that stuttering thing. And currently you're doing both."   
  


Giving in, Shalimar nodded and then stared down at her hands.   
  


"Look Shal, I love you so much. You're like a sister to me and if I were to lose you, I don't know what I'd do. I mean, I would gladly give my life to keep you away from any harm," he told her as he gently wiped away a single tear that was making its way down her cheek.   
  


"I think it's safe to say that we all would," they heard Adam say from behind them. Turning to face him, they noticed that Brennan and Emma were standing there too.   
  


Stepping forward, Emma said, "Adam's right, Shalimar. We would. In the time we've lived with together, we've all grown so close that we would sacrifice ourselves to save one another without even a second thought."   
  


Shalimar nodded as she wiped away the tears that were in her eyes. "Yeah, you're right. It's just..it's not very often that I get taken down by anyone and the fact that I almost got killed kinda wounded my ego."   
  


"So in other words, you're a bit humiliated," Brennan said as a big smirk lit up his face.   
  


"I guess so," Shalimar replied just before she flashed him one of her sly grins, "But if I were ever taken down again, I would definitely want it to be another feral who did it, just like tonight. There is no way my ego would be able to get over it if it were someone like you guys who did it. Not that any of you could ever come close to taking me down,"she finished as she let out a small laugh.   
  


"Care to place a bet on that?!" Jesse asked as he lunged for her, but once again, she was too quick. Shalimar jumped out of the way and Jesse ended up landing in the pond again like he had earlier that day. Spitting out water, he looked up at her. "You're so going to pay for that!!" he growled as he stood and stepped out of the pond, his sopping wet clothes dripping all over the floor of the sanctuary.   
  


"Oh really?" she asked as she smiled. "Bring it on," she said as she took off in a run away from the others. Jesse quickly followed.   
  


"Not again," Adam mumbled as he wandered away, most likely to the lab.   
  


Brennan and Emma looked at each other before they both sat down on the stairs, listening to Shalimar's taunts and Jesse's lame comebacks.   
  


Turning to Emma, Brennan grinned. "Speaking of bets, do you care to place a little wager on who will win?" he inquired.   
  


"Sure. I've got fifty on Shalimar," she replied quickly.   
  


"Hey, no fair. I wanted Shalimar!" Brennan whined. "But fine, I'll put fifty on Jesse."   
  


"Good luck," Emma said with a grin as she shook Brennan's hand. "I just hope that you have fifty bucks lying around because there's no way Jesse will win, even if Shalimar is only using one arm."   
  


Brennan glared at her for a few seconds before giving her a small smile and then nodding. "Yeah, you're right," he agreed as he opened his wallet and handed her a fifty dollar bill.   
  


Accepting it, Emma listened for a second to hear Shalimar saying something that sounded like "Do you give up?" and then Jesse's strained reply of "Yes! Yes! Just get off me!"   
  


As a smirk lit up her face, she looked at Brennan. "Come on. Why don't we go get something to eat. I'm buying,"she said as she waved the fifty dollars in front of him.   
  


Brennan nodded. "Great, I'm starving."   
  


With that, they both stood up and heading out to find a place to eat. 

THE END!!! 

(I really hope you all liked it! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!) 


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